Awareness and precision: Elite IDF unit carries out nighttime military exercise

The IDF 444 Unit carried out a nighttime exercise earlier this week aimed at testing the troops' driving capabilities under challenging situations, the military said on Thursday. 

The elite mobility unit is responsible for training and carrying out operations in the field of mobility. 

The maneuver carried out in the Shfela area, focused on driving in composite terrain and introducing scenarios in which forces could be met with explosive devices, among other things.   

During the exercise, the vehicles had to move at a fast and similar pace, keeping a minimal distance from each other.  

"The narrow gaps have an operational advantage," the training commander explained. "The lead driver chooses the safest route and avoids obstacles that may be in the way. The others make sure not to deviate for a moment to avoid any risk," he explained. 

Communication between forces

Since the convoy moves between different brigades, the commander emphasized the importance of the convoy's communication with the force it was joining to prevent it from being identified as an enemy force.

"We have refined the process of transitioning between different teams over the past year. Now, they know each other in advance, even before going on a mission."

The biggest challenge for the drivers is maintaining their concentration, he said, adding," "A driver's lack of caution can cause significant damage to the force."

"The drivers need to be aware of every centimeter of progress and analyze the terrain tens of meters ahead," he explained.

"There's no doubt that it's complex, and for exactly this reason, the exercise takes place after three intensive weeks. We started with solo driving without a convoy, then progressed to terrain assessment and gradually added vehicles so that they would arrive as prepared as possible," he stated.